Council of Trullo

Since the Sixth Great and Holy Ecumenical Council did not debate church
discipline nor establish any disciplinary cannons, legislative issues from
both the Fifth and the Sixth Councils had remained unresolved. The Quinisext
Ecumenical Council was held in 692 and is regarded as supplementing the Fifth
Ecumenical Council of 553 and the Sixth Ecumenical Council of 681. The work
of the council dealt mainly with legislative issues, ratifying 102 canons and
decisions of the two earlier Ecumenical Councils.

The Quinisext Council was convened in 692 by Justinian II in Constantinople.
It is often referred to as the Council in Trullo, because the sessions were
held in the same domed room where the Sixth Council was conducted. Both the
Fifth and the Sixth Councils had adjourned without drawing up disciplinary
canons. The 692 council was convened with the intention to complete the work
of the earlier councils in this respect, and it was from this aspect that it
took the name Quinisext (i.e., Fifth-Sixth Council).

Two hundred and eleven bishops attended the council, all from the Eastern
Roman Empire. Basil of Gortyna in Illyria/Crete, however, belonged to the
Church of Rome and claimed that he represented the Roman Church, though no
evidence exists of his right to make this claim. In fact, Pope Sergius of
Rome refused to sign the canons, citing them as “lacking authority”, when
they were sent to him for signature. The Western Church never recognized the
102 disciplinary canons of this council, although later statements by some of
the bishops of Rome, notably Popes Constantine and Hadrian I, seem to show an
acceptance that could be summed up as expressed by Pope John VIII: that he
accepted all those canons which did not contradict the true faith, good
morals, and decrees of Rome. The Orthodox Churches consider this council as
ecumenical and adds its canons to the decrees of the Fifth and Sixth
Councils.

The canons decreed at Trullo professed faith in all the previous Ecumenical
Councils and anathematized those who did not 'hold and embrace' the dogmas
promulgated by these Councils. They prohibited ordination of man married more
than once or married to previously married woman and supported the deposition
of any clergy discovered to be guilty of same or marrying after ordination.
Some canons did approve marriage before ordination to diaconate or priesthood
and ordered that deacons or a priest who separated from his wife was to be
deposed. Declared the patriarch of New Rome (Constantinople) should have
equal privileges as the patriarch of Old Rome. The Council of Trullo
established monastic regulations. It enacted a canon permitting only the
Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified (a vespers service where communion is received
from that which was previously consecrated) on days of Lent because these are
days of fasting (Saturdays, Sundays, and the Feast of the Annunciation
excluded). The Council also enacted canons regarding fasting (prohibition of
fasting on Saturdays or Sundays, except Holy Saturday; prohibition of eggs
and cheese). There was also a canon mandating excommunication for one week
for laymen administering the Divine Mysteries when a bishop, priest, or
deacon present. It condemned soothsaying, fortune-telling, casting of spells,
superstition, etc. It prohibited marriage to heretics. It also made assisting
in abortion or having abortion equivalent to murder. Procedures were also
established for accepting heretics into the Church.

At the Seventh Ecumenical Council at Nicaea (787), the Greek bishops referred
to canons from the Council in Trullo as belonging to the sixth general
council, but this declaration was not ratified by the Latin Church. The
Greeks have continually regarded the Trullan canons as acts of an ecumenical
council, but the Latins have generally ignored or rejected the canons.

Although the Council in Trullo was never fully accepted by the Latin Church
at any time, the Greeks intended its canons to serve as a rule for the entire
Catholic Church. Thus, the decrees of this council are a valuable resource
for understanding what the Greeks of the late seventh century considered to
be apostolic faith and practice. In several places, the Trullan canons
condemn Latin customs that differed from Greek practices believed to be of
apostolic origin, yet the council did allow for diverse regional customs
where these did not contradict the teaching of the Apostles. The canons also
endorse many moral and religious doctrines and customs that some modern
writers have erroneously regarded as Latin inventions from the High Middle
Ages. The Council in Trullo is an important witness to the antiquity and
universality of the Church's teaching on abortion, infant baptism, and the
Eucharist. The canons also prove that the Greeks were not in profound
disagreement with the Latins on many issues of ecclesiastical authority that
would later attain prominence.

We now turn to the Seventh Great and Holy Ecumenical Council, The Second
Council of Nicaea, 787 AD.